Carl von Rokitansky

Carl von Rokitansky

Baron Carl von Rokitansy (1804 - 1878) Outstanding Bohemian pathologist, one of the most important figures in establishing pathology as a branch of medical science. Rokitansy is said to have personally conducted more than 30,000 autopsies in his lifetime. A large number of medical conditions are named after him - Rokitansy-Cushing ulcer (a gastric ulcer caused by elevated intracranial pressure), von Rokitansky syndrome (Budd-Chiari syndrome, occlusion of the hepatic veins, resulting in the calssical triad of abdominal pain, ascites and hepatomegaly), Rokitansky nodule (a teratoma), Rokitansky-Aschoff sinuses (diverticula in the wall of the gall bladder, may be associated with cholecystitis) and Rokitansky's triad (pulmonary stenosis). The very rare Superior mesenteric artery syndrome, characterized by the compression of the third part of teh duodenum between the abdominal aorta and the superior mesenteric artery, was first described by Rokitansky. Rokitansky was also a philosopher (an ardent follower of Schopenhauer) and a liberal politician. The famous pathologist Rudolf Virchow is said to have referred to him as the "Linne of pathological anatomy."